Squeezin, Creator of "Squeezable Seaweed," Takes on Global Market with Seaweed Sauce Series

Squeezin (CEO: Jung Dasom), the company that launched Korea's first "squeezable seaweed sauce," is taking on the global market with three varieties of its seaweed sauce.

Founded through "Next Local," a program supporting Seoul youth in regionally connected startups, Squeezin is a brand that creates convenient and nutritious sauces using premium Korean ingredients. Squeezin, established by planner Jung Dasom and chef Lim Jungeun, has introduced to the domestic market its "Rice Friend Seaweed Sauce" (hereafter "Seaweed Sauce") and "Rice Friend Seaweed Pollack Roe Sauce" (hereafter "Seaweed Pollack Roe Sauce"), both developed over two years and designed to be squeezed and mixed with rice.

Squeezin's seaweed sauce series, which combines a proprietary soy sauce with domestically sourced stone seaweed using a patented process, is Korea’s first commercially available tube-type seaweed sauce. The series, which blends the texture and aroma of raw seaweed with savory soy sauce, is optimized for "soy sauce egg rice," as suggested by its name, "Rice Friend to Squeeze and Mix." It also serves as a versatile multi-purpose sauce that pairs well not only with Korean dishes like perilla oil buckwheat noodles, mixed noodles, and fried rice, but also with Western dishes such as pasta and steak. Its outstanding convenience-requiring no cooking or thawing-along with a generous shelf life of 24 months, makes it well-suited for export.

Jung Dasom stated, "Seaweed is an ingredient that transcends nationality, gender, and age preferences. To realize the idea of turning Korea’s quintessential rice side dish into an easy-to-use sauce for foreigners unfamiliar with cooking, we conducted hundreds of sampling tests. We ultimately created the seaweed sauce series, which preserves the unique flavor and aroma of seaweed while maximizing practicality and shelf life. We aim for seaweed sauce to become a staple in everyone’s refrigerator, replacing sriracha and oyster sauce in the future."

Squeezin, which has always aspired to become a "must-have souvenir when visiting Korea," plans to accelerate its overseas expansion in response to the global K-food craze and the surge in interest in seaweed, often referred to as the "black semiconductor." Having already received recognition for the novelty and innovation of its seaweed sauce at various B2B trade shows and business meetings, Squeezin is currently discussing export opportunities with several countries. The company plans to launch follow-up products such as seaweed wasabi flavor in the second half of this year. Squeezin also announced that it will further promote its brand and seaweed sauce by participating in local pop-up stores, promotional events, and major international food exhibitions in Vladivostok, Russia; Shanghai, China; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Food Startup Center, where Squeezin is based, is Korea’s first agri-food startup incubator established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2016. The center provides a stable foundation and a variety of growth support services, enabling food tech startups with outstanding ideas to focus on business growth.